PARIS (Reuters) – The United States said on Monday renewed fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between the army and M23 rebels risked dragging neighboring countries into the conflict and it urged all sides to return to the negotiating table.

Following two months of relative calm in the region, fighting flared last Friday after peace talks in neighboring Uganda broke down when M23 rebels demanded an amnesty for their leaders. President Joseph Kabila has ruled out a blanket pardon.

PARIS (Reuters) – France is treating Iranian overtures to the international community over its nuclear program with caution and is waiting to see concrete proposals, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday.

The United States on Wednesday described two days of nuclear talks with Iran as the most serious to date after diplomats said Tehran hinted it was ready to scale back sensitive atomic activities to secure urgent sanctions relief.

BANGUI (Reuters) – France, whose troops this year halted an Islamist assault towards Mali’s capital, is now in demand from another of its former African colonies.

“Let’s make up with the mother that feeds us! President Hollande we want your help!” read one banner as cheering locals welcomed France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, to Central African Republic at the weekend.

BANGUI (Reuters) – France will boost its troop presence in the Central African Republic by the end of the year end under a forthcoming U.N. resolution to help prevent the country from spiraling out of control, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Sunday.

Fabius and the European Union aid chief, Kristalina Georgieva, are in the country to drum up support and international interest for a largely forgotten crisis.

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s foreign minister heads to the Central African Republic (CAR) on Sunday aiming to drum up international interest for a largely forgotten crisis that risks dragging Paris into a new military intervention in one of its former colonies.

The nation has descended into chaos since mostly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in March, the latest coup in the country that remains one of the world’s poorest despite resources ranging from gold to uranium.

PARIS (Reuters) – Deposed former Central African Republic President Francois Bozize is in east Africa in all likelihood seeking support to regain power, a senior French diplomatic source said on Thursday.

Bozize, who ruled the former French colony for a decade, fled to Cameroon in March after rebels captured the riverside capital Bangui. He arrived in France in July and told media he nurtured ambitions of returning to power.

PARIS (Reuters) – French special forces killed around 10 militants in a gun battle in northern Mali this month, Paris said on Thursday, as simmering violence threatens security at November elections and will delay a French troop withdrawal.

France, which sent soldiers to its former colony in January to oust militants who had taken over swathes of the West African country, will not draw down troop numbers to 1,000, from 3,200 by year-end as initially planned, a spokesman confirmed.

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s military will cut almost 8,000 jobs next year, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday, detailing government belt-tightening plans that the far-right hopes will deliver it votes at municipal elections in 2014.

The cuts come as tensions rise within the 17-month-old coalition of Socialist President Francois Hollande, whose satisfaction ratings have fallen to 23 percent due to concerns about a stalled economy and high unemployment.

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s military will cut about 7,500 jobs next year, a defense ministry source said on Thursday, detailing government belt-tightening plans that the far-right hopes will deliver it votes at municipal elections in 2014.

The cuts come as tensions rise within Socialist President Francois Hollande’s 17-month-old coalition, whose poll ratings have fallen to 23 percent due to dissatisfaction about the economy and jobs.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on Friday that demands the eradication of Syria’s chemical weapons but does not threaten automatic punitive action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government if it does not comply.

The unanimous vote by the 15-member Security Council ended weeks of intense diplomacy between Russia and the United States. It was based on a deal between the two countries reached in Geneva earlier this month following an August 21 sarin nerve gas attack on a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds.